This document provides examples of using the past continuous tense in English to talk about actions that were happening or not happening in the past. It lists the positive and negative forms of the past continuous for the first, second, and third person singular and plural. It also provides examples of questions using the past continuous and the short yes/no answers to those questions.

1. Past continuous

2. Positive Negative
I was writing I was not / wasn’t writing
You were writing You were not / weren’t writing
He /she was writing He was not / wasn’t writing
We were writing We were not / weren’t writing
You were writing You were not / weren’t writing
They were writing They were not / weren’t writing

3. Questions Short answers
Was I writing? Yes, you were / No, you weren’t.
Were you writing? Yes, I was / No, I wasn’t.
Was he/ she writing? Yes, he was / No, he wasn’t.
Were we writing? Yes, you were / No, you weren’t
Were you writing? Yes, we were / No, we weren’t
Were they writing? Yes, they were / No, they weren’t